On the third night he rose…but not in overall audience. Although Conan’s numbers have dropped considerably since the premiere of his new show, he’s still leading his competitors where it counts: 18-49-year-olds.
Conan O’Brien returned victoriously to the airwaves last night, killing the late show competition with the debut of his new show on TBS. About 4.2 million viewers tuned in for the premiere of Conan compared to 3.5 million for Jay Leno and 3.4 million for David Letterman. Coco also succeeded in attracting 3.3 million adults 18-49, a coveted demo for advertisers and an amount far exceeding his rivals—the former Doritos guy only had 995,000 in that age range.
Twitter Fail Whale artist Yiying Lu created this illustration for Conan’s new show and it sure is cute, but may not be the best visual association for our fiery coif-ed hero’s latest endeavor. After all, Twitter blackouts are never funny Coco! Aw, shucks. I can’t stay mad at you. Break a leg. May your TV future be well-funded and dressed in non-yuppie threads. May your pride and beard stay unusurped.
Conan O’Brien won’t be returning to TV until next Tuesday, but in the meantime, decided to use some of his internet-based star power to gin up some hype with “Show Zero,” a five minute episode that offers a glimpse of what the new show will be like, while reinforcing Diet Coke’s brand message.
Have you seen that big orange thing in the sky with the word Conan on it? The blimp has been flying all over the city to help promote the funnyman’s epic return to the airwaves on November 8th. When aloft, it offers a bird’s eye view via a live cam that can be viewed from the Team Coco website, but not right now, it’s “napping.” Here it is on a recent flight.
Despite the rumors that Fox would snatch up Conan O’Brien, TV Guide is reporting that he’s going to…TBS. Really? An official announcement is expected later, but O’Brien released this statement in the meantime: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.” He also confirmed the news via this amusing tweet: “The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I’ll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show.” Also, bad news for George Lopez, as his spot will be pushed to midnight, completing the karmic cycle of back stabbery that is late night TV. |TV Guide|
The New York Times did a story on how Conan O’Brien is smartly using the magical powers of the internet to promote himself since NBC cancelled his show and put the Doritos guy back on. They mentioned the Team Coco art, the Facebook page, and his Twitter, which apparently took a few people to pull off: “Assisted by his executive producer, Jeff Ross, and personal friends, Mr. O’Brien signed up for Twitter in late February.” |NYT|
As you may have noticed, Conan O’Brien has been playing his cards brilliantly since leaving NBC. Recap: He took good care of his crew, joined Twitter, followed one person and made her famous, announced a perfectly named multi-city tour (“Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television“) and licensed graphic designer Mike Mitchell’s “I’m with Coco” portrait for it, forever changing his life as well.
Last night, Sarah Killen, the 19-year-old thrust onto the world stage after she became the one person Conan O’Brien is following on Twitter, was supposed to make an appearance on Larry King yesterday, but was bumped for Corey Haim (RIP). Conan noted the injustice via Twitter.
Sarah Killen is the lucky recipient of Conan O’Brien’s Twitter philanthropy.
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